U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Shields declared the mistrial Wednesday afternoon in the case of Teresa Wagner after jurors reported they were deadlocked after three days of deliberations.

During a weeklong trial that raised questions about faculty hiring practices, Wagner claimed that the overwhelmingly liberal faculty refused to hire her because she is a Republican who had worked for social conservative groups that oppose abortion rights.

Professors testified that while they were aware of Wagner's political beliefs, they passed her over for jobs teaching legal analysis and writing because she flunked a job interview in January 2007.